The Wilderness as a Place of the New Exodus in Mark's Feeding Miracles (Mark 6:31–44 and 8:1

Abstract

This article investigates the role of the wilderness in Jesus' feeding miracles in Mark 6:31–44 and 8:1–10, which connects God's provision of manna in the original exodus with Jesus' feeding miracles, envisioning the new exodus. In the exodus story, the wilderness was a special place where the Israelites established their identity as the people of God by witnessing God's grace, punishment, and power. In the later biblical writings, the Second Temple Jewish literatures, and rabbinic writings, the wilderness had been re-interpreted symbolically, cosmologically, and eschatologically, implying a chaotic state that should be transformed by God's grace and a place where God's people are gathered and fed with the hope of a messianic banquet. Mark accumulates these images and implications of the wilderness into Jesus' feeding miracles, and presents the feedings of the multitude in the wilderness in light of the new exodus. The wilderness is portrayed as the place where green grass grows; in the wilderness Jesus as the eschatological shepherd leads and cares for his people with compassion and gathers and feeds them with a messianic banquet. Jesus is manifested as the Savior and Feeder who guides, cares for, and gives abundant food to his people, in which the new exodus is unfolded.

Keywords

feeding miracle manna messianic banquet new exodus wilderness

The wilderness is a special place in the history of Israel, for the Israelites established their identity as the people of God in the wilderness wanderings of the exodus. In the wilderness, God revealed himself to the Israelites by graciously providing for them or by punishing them for their sins. Though the Israelites constantly grumbled and sinned against God, he did not forsake them but consistently showed them his mercy and gracious care, particularly through his daily provision of manna and quail. In the Old Testament texts, Second Temple Jewish literature, and rabbinic writings, the wilderness is associated with diverse images and implications: it is portrayed as a state of chaos that by God's grace will be transformed into fertile land or a flat road for his coming (e.g., Ps 68:7–10; Isa 40:3; 41:17–20; 43:16–20), as a place where God cares for his people as the shepherd of Israel (e.g., Ps 78:52; Isa 40:11), and as a place of eschatological gathering and feeding at the banquet in the messianic age (e.g., 2 Bar. 29:8; 1QS 8:12–16; 1QSa 2:11–22).

Jesus' feeding miracles in Mark 6:31–44 and 8:1–10 allude to the manna event in the exodus, and the wilderness plays a key role in establishing this connection (for the manna tradition, see Malina). Like the Israelites in the exodus, the disciples complained about the impossibility of finding food in the wilderness (8:4), but Jesus miraculously fed the crowd by multiplying bread. In the feeding miracles the wilderness not only serves as a prompt to recall the manna event but also carries cosmological and eschatological implications. The wilderness is depicted as the place where “green grass” (chlōros chortos, 6:39) grows, which implies a transformed wilderness full of vitality. It is the place where Jesus the shepherd compassionately guides and cares for his people (6:34) and the place where Jesus gathers and feeds his people with a messianic banquet (6:39–40). The grouping of hundreds and fifties and the expressions of “reclining in groups” recall not only the arrangement of the Israelites in the exodus, but also the image of the eschatological messianic banquet.

In this study, I will first look into the images and meanings of the wilderness in the original exodus events and then trace the changes in these images and their meanings presented by later Old Testament texts, Second Temple Jewish literature, and rabbinic writings. Then, I will demonstrate that Jesus' feeding miracles allude to the exodus events as they appear not only in the historical description of Exodus but also in cosmological and eschatological representations in later Old Testament texts, Second Temple Jewish literature, and rabbinic writings. Jesus' feeding miracles involve these accumulated images and meanings of the wilderness, as Mark describes Jesus' miracles as the new exodus. The wilderness in Jesus' miracles serves as a spatial allusion to the past exodus while also signaling the new exodus carried out by Jesus.

The Wilderness and the Original Exodus Events

According to Lynn Wall, in the history of Israel the wilderness does not simply refer to a geographical place but it also implies “a symbol of the formative events which shaped Israel's covenant relationship with God” (Wall: 67). In the wilderness, the Israelites experienced God's gracious guidance and provision, but they also received tests and punishments because of their sins and rebellions. God revealed himself to the Israelites in both these ways, and the wilderness has been portrayed in both negative and positive ways.

Robert Barry Leal suggests four meanings associated with the wilderness in Scripture:

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a site with a negative image, featuring the fear, repulsion, or hostility associated with sin;

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the place of the Israelites' encounter with God or angels, where they were tested or entrusted with tasks;

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the location of God's grace where he revealed himself to the Israelites, who experienced discipline, purification, and transformation;

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a place where God's good creation is celebrated with honor and reverence (Leal: 63).

The wilderness motif appears especially in the Pentateuch, the Psalms, the Prophets, Second Temple Jewish literature, rabbinic writings, and some parts of the New Testament, and the four attitudes toward the wilderness are present as appropriate to the emphasis of each text.

The historical description of the exodus from Egypt that records the Israelites' journey in the wilderness after their crossing of the Red Sea and before their arrival at Mount Sinai (Exod 15:22–17:7) presents a pattern of wilderness wanderings consisting of three elements: “grumbling,” “God's gracious provision in response to that grumbling,” and “God's testing of his people” (Enns: 330). In response to the Israelites' grumbling against the bitter water at Marah, God made it sweet to drink and then tested them with a decree and a law (15:22–27). The pattern of grumbling, provision, and testing continues in the following episodes—manna and quail (16:1–36) and water from the rock at Rephidim (17:1–7). The Israelites consistently complained and sinned against God, but despite their grumbling God steadily took care of them by providing water and bread by his grace. As S. Talmon says, from a theological perspective the wilderness wanderings are characterized by “two seemingly opposite and yet complementary phenomena”: God's infinite “beneficence,” paternal “forbearance,” and “love” on the one hand, and Israel's “doubt,” “apostasy,” and “rebellious behavior” on the other (Talmon: 105). In particular, the episode of the provision of manna in the wilderness (16:1–36) explicitly discloses the two opposing features of God's grace and the Israelites' sin. The Israelites were tested by God. They grumbled about the lack of food, saying that it was better to die by the Lord's hand in Egypt where they sat by the pots of meat and ate bread until they were full than to starve to death in the desert (v 3). Despite their complaint, God told Moses that he would rain down bread from heaven (v 5). The people, however, were limited to gathering only enough manna for each day, and this instruction served as a test for them.

In the provision of manna in the wilderness, the Israelites saw the “glory (kābôd) of the LORD” (16:7, 10). Though the term “glory” in verbal form (“to gain glory, honor”; 14:4, 7, 18) appears earlier, this is the first appearance of the phrase “glory of the LORD” in the Old Testament. This phrase has the significance of a “designation for the actual presence of God”—it is “the language of theophany” (Meyers: 131; see also Durham: 220). At the grumbling of the Israelites, the glory of the Lord was disclosed in order to tell them of his will; God's intervention was accomplished by convincing them of his glory (16:10) (Weinfeld: 34). When they looked toward the wilderness, the “glory of the LORD” appeared there in the cloud. The wilderness, therefore, serves as “the place of the greatest theophany” (Durham: 220). In the event of manna and quail, the wilderness predominantly appears as the place where God confers his gracious provision—despite the Israelites' grumbling—and reveals himself to them.

The Wilderness and the Later Old Testament Texts

The images of the wilderness in the Pentateuch are upgraded to a cosmic dimension in the Psalms and the Prophets: While the wilderness in the Pentateuch serves merely as a “foil” for disclosing the contrast between God's grace and the Israelites' rebellion, the wilderness in the Psalms and the Prophets is filled with symbolic and cosmic characteristics (Mauser: 36–37). The wilderness motifs were amplified with diverse perspectives in the post-Pentateuchal literature. Talmon notes that “[i]n the Pentateuch, the semantic field “wilderness” always refers to the thing itself, to a ‘reality,’ not an image,” but in the post-Pentateuchal literature, the wilderness began to be expressed in various images (Talmon: 114).

First, the wilderness is portrayed as the state of chaos, which will be transformed into a fertile land by God's grace. “To dwell in the desert means, indeed, to dwell in the land of curse, in a condition which is outside the merciful power of God, who turned the wilderness into fertile land” (Mauser: 44). According to Talmon, the wilderness (midbār) and the deep (těhôm) can be employed “synonymously” in “parallelismus membrorum.” The pairing of the wilderness and the deep in Psalm 78:15 (“He split rocks open in the wilderness [midbār], and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep [těhôm]”) and Isaiah 63:13 (“Who led them through the deep [těhôm]? Like a horse in the desert [midbār], they did not stumble”) illustrate this idea (Talmon: 114–15; cf. Kim 2017b: 336–39). The image of the chaos of the wilderness is well illustrated in the expression, “trackless wastes” (or “pathless desert”) in Psalm 107:40, where God pours contempt on the princes and makes them wander. If the waters are regarded as the “wet chaos,” the wilderness is considered as the “dry chaos” (Leal: 80–81).

In Psalms and Isaiah, particularly, the deep and the wilderness, which reflect the places that the exodus events—the victory in the Red Sea and the provision of manna in the wilderness—happened, are described as a chaotic state. Psalm 77:14–20 echoes the song of Moses and Miriam in Exodus 15:1–18, showing that “God's way through the sea leading his people like a flock corresponds to and enacts the mastery of the chaotic waters” (Mays 1994: 253). In Psalm 77, the deep (těhôm) (v 16[17]) is mentioned with an “unmistakable allusion to the desert wanderings” (v 20[21]) (Talmon: 114). The image of God's guidance of the Israelites in the Pentateuch is expanded here with the image of shepherd and flock (Hossfeld & Zenger: 280).

The waters saw you, O God,

the waters saw you and they were afraid;

the very deep (tehôm) trembled (v 16[17]).

You lead your people like a flock

by the hand of Moses and Aaron (v 20[21]).

In Psalm 29, the glory of God is disclosed all over the universe: in heaven, earth, sea, and wilderness (VanGemeren: 294). Here, the mighty waters (v 3) appear together with the wilderness (v 8). The mighty waters, symbolizing the chaotic force (Tate: 24), are ruled by God's thunderous voice: “The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters” (v 3). Likewise, the wilderness is shaken by his voice: “The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh” (v 8). (VanGemeren: 295). The phrase “shakes the wilderness” may be translated as “makes the wilderness tremble (in fear)” (e.g. Pss 96:9; 97:4; 114:7) (Anderson 1972a: 237). The wilderness (midbār) refers not only to the desert but also to “land without permanent settlements” (Dahood: 178). According to Ulrich W. Mauser, the wilderness as the chaotic force is doomed to be destroyed by God when he intervenes to deliver his people.

The miracle of the Red Sea is in this tradition seen as an embodiment of Yahweh's powers over chaos. It seems, therefore, permissible to interpret the concept of the wilderness in the same categories. The wilderness is one of the powers of chaos which is defeated by Yahweh when he arises to intervene for his people. The desert tradition of Israel is thus given cosmic significance [Mauser: 44].

Psalm 68:7(8)–10(11) alludes to the exodus story by combining the historical events with cosmic images. In v 6(7), the wilderness is described as an arid wasteland inhabited by rebellious people: “the rebellious live in a parched land.” This image implies the condition of “the absence of God or his favor” and further indicates “the chaos on which God imposes order.” However, God marched through the wilderness leading the Israelites and gave them rain in abundance (Anderson 1972a: 478–88; Vogt). In spite of their rebellion, God provided for them by his goodness, making it possible to turn the wilderness into fertile ground.

Augustine Stock states that this passage is compared with the event of crossing the Red Sea in the exodus: “Just as Yahweh crushed the head of the Dragon when Israel passed through the Sea of Reeds, so he subdues the wild, chaotic powers of the wilderness, turns the desert into verdant pastures, as he guides and sustains his people in the wilderness” (Stock: 60). In a cosmic dimension, the wilderness as the deserted and cursed land is regarded as chaos, and God's goodness changes it into fertile land by giving rain in abundance. The chaotic force of the desert is defeated by God as his grace turns it into green, blooming, and moist ground.

In Isaiah 40:3, the transformation of the wilderness is explicit, and its purpose is to make a way for the Lord: “A voice of one calling: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’” Antithetic phrases describe how obstacles to the Lord's journey through the wilderness will be transformed into good ground for an easy journey—valleys shall be raised, mountains and hills will be made low, and the uneven or rough ground will be leveled (v 4) (Mauser: 51). Furthermore, the wilderness in 41:17–20 is turned into fertile land, which implies “the conversion of the desert into paradise” (Propp: 102). The imagery of the transformation of the wilderness into fertile land appears earlier in Isaiah in various ways:

Isa. 32 envisages wilderness turned into garden and garden into forest, and goes on to picture wilderness and garden characterized by judgment and justice, and thus by well-being, quietness and trust (forest again becoming a negative image in vv 19–20). Isaiah 35:1–2, 6b–7 pictures the desert blossoming and rejoicing with the splendour of Lebanon and Carmel (forest and garden) and envisages streams of water bursting out in the wilderness, sand becoming wetland, thirsty ground becoming springs of water [Goldingay: 123–24].

David W. Pao argues that “[t]he Exodus tradition of provision in the desert (41:17–20; 43:19) becomes a promise in which Yahweh will ‘make her wilderness like Eden’ (51:3)” (Pao: 56). As the first exodus events had been reinterpreted in light of creative events, God's promise to do new things is related to his creative works in the new exodus (cf. Harner: 299, 305–06). The cursed wilderness in the first exodus is transformed into the blessed land in the new exodus, a place where the poor and needy are given abundant water by God's creative works.

In Isaiah 43:16–20, the original and the new exodus appear explicitly together, and the images and functions of the sea (the waters) and the wilderness in the original are transformed in the new (Lim: 143). In the historical description of the victory at the Red Sea (vv 16–17), a way was made through the sea and the waters served to destroy the Egyptian army. In Isaiah's vision of a new thing (vv 19–20), however, a way will be made in the wilderness and water will flow to give drink to God's chosen people. The wilderness where false belief and rebellion occurred and unclean beasts lived is transformed into a place where streams flow and the people of God may reside, being supplied with drinking water (Oswalt: 491). In the new exodus, a way is made not through the sea, but in the wilderness, and water serves not as a threatening tool for destruction, but as God's gracious provision for preserving life. It is significant that the way and the supply of water will be made in the wilderness at the same time: making a way recalls the crossing of the Red Sea, and the provision for the Israelites' needs recollects the wilderness wanderings (Mathews: 125). The two events of the victory at the Red Sea and the provision during the wilderness wanderings in the original exodus are here conflated into one event in the new exodus (Mathews: 125). The wilderness becomes the cosmological and eschatological location where the new way is opened and the new world full of life is created with the provision of water. The wilderness in Isaiah is transformed into the blessed land with the expectation of the new exodus.

Second, the wilderness is portrayed as the place where God guides his people as the shepherd of Israel. According to Talmon, “[i]n late prophetic literature and in some psalms, the notion of God as father (Dt. 32:6, 18, 19), protector, and caretaker of his people (Ex. 19:4; Dt. 32:10f.; also vv. 4, 15, 18, 30, 31), which has its roots in the period of wilderness wanderings, is fused with the image of God as ‘Israel's shepherd.’” (Talmon: 115).

In Ps 78(77):52, the Israelites are compared to sheep (probata, LXX) or a flock (poimnion, LXX) led by God (Anderson 1972b: 573): “Then he led out his people like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.” The image of God as a shepherd expresses his guidance and care for the Israelites, who are like sheep during their wilderness wanderings.

Isaiah 40:11 also presents God as a shepherd (poimēn, LXX) who will feed and lead his flock (poimnion, LXX): “He will feed his flock as a shepherd: he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.” The LXX Greek shepherd (poimēn) and sheep (probaton) in Psalm 78(77):52 and Isaiah 40:11 are also used in Mark 6:34 to describe the crowd “like sheep without a shepherd” (hōs probata mē echonta poimena). In vv 10, 11, two images of God appear simultaneously in the metaphor of arm—military warrior and shepherd. On the one hand, God's arm is used to defeat his enemies and secure his reign over the world; on the other hand, it is employed to gather his people with tender and gentle guidance. The two different uses of the arm are intended to show “the two complementary sides of God's nature”: He is the one who both fights for and cares for those who depend on him (Oswalt: 55).

Third, the wilderness is the eschatological gathering and feeding place of God's people. The prophets developed a new concept of the wilderness from an eschatological perspective: “the expectation of a new time which Israel will have to spend in the wilderness” (Mauser: 45). They sought for an “eschatological ideal” consisting of “a return to the religious and social conditions” of the wilderness period (Talmon: 107–08; Mauser: 48): “nor shall you ever build a house, or sow seed; nor shall you plant a vineyard, or even own one; but you must always live in tents, that you may live a long time in the land where you reside” (Jer 35:7). Hosea was the first prophet who mentioned a desert period in Israel's future (Mauser: 45). Since Israel, described metaphorically as an unfaithful wife, committed sins, Yahweh threatened to “make her like a desert, and turn her into a parched land” (Hos 2:3[5]). Israel should be exiled from her fertile land and placed in the desert, but in spite of Israel's sinfulness, Hosea had a vision of the “renewal of hope” on the basis of Yahweh's faithfulness (Mauser: 45). In the wilderness, Yahweh will tenderly call Israel again, and she will be restored: “Therefore, I will now allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her” (Hos 2:14[16]). The call to the wilderness selects the theme of devastation from previous verses (e.g., vv 3, 12) and changes it into a way of restoration (Garrett: 88). Duane A. Garrett says that “[l]ater prophets developed this idea too: the wilderness is not only a place of deprivation but is also a place of renewal and innocence (see Jer 2:2; 31:2; Ezek 20:10–38)” (Garrett: 88: see also Mays 1969: 44). In Hosea, the renewal of the relationship between God and Israel in the wilderness may recall the covenantal relationship that God formed with Israel at Mount Sinai in the exodus (Stuart 1987: 53; Dearman: 121; Mays 1969: 44). The covenant metaphor is used in the background of the wilderness, where Israel's new beginning in relationship with God may be established (Dearman: 121). The return to the wilderness is therefore “a return to the grace of God” (Mauser: 46), implying the restoration of Israel's original relationship with God, namely “the genuine status as the sonship to God” (Stock: 61).

Isaiah also called the Israelites to the wilderness; he who proclaimed the new exodus commanded them to prepare the way of the Lord (Isa 40:3, 4). It is in the wilderness that they should prepare the way, for it is in the wilderness that they will see the return of the Lord. Eschatologically, then, the wilderness is the place where the people of God should gather and prepare themselves to see and meet him. These prophetic announcements affected rabbinic literature and the members of the Qumran community who lived and purified themselves in the wilderness in expectation of the Messiah's arrival (Mauser: 61).

The Wilderness and Second Temple Jewish Literature and Rabbinic Writings

The eschatological expectation of the new exodus arose vigorously in Second Temple Jewish literature and rabbinic writings that envisioned the messianic age unfolding in the wilderness (Mauser: 53–61; Stock: 62–63; Kittel: 658–59). The term “messianic” may be largely understood in two ways: It narrowly refers to “the expected Davidic savior of Israel” and broadly to “an eschatological age of God's intervention in creation and history” (Noll: 782). The messianic expectation in early Judaism took diverse forms. Some anticipated a particular Messianic figure like David (e.g., Pss. Sol. 17). Some Qumranites looked for two messianic figures—one is related to priesthood and the other to kingship (e.g., 1QS 9:11). Others expected a prophet like Moses (e.g., 4QTest). Still others hoped for “the coming of a messianic age in general without focusing on a particular messianic figure” (Witherington: 384). Here, one needs to distinguish between “messianic” and “eschatological.” While the term “eschatological” generally implies the state of “a radical and lasting change” performed by God or his agents, the term “messianic” focuses on a figure as a redeemer, who will transform this age and provide the new world (Jonge: 778; Juel: 889–90). Messiah means “anointed one.” When Israel had its own kingdom, kings and high priests were anointed. In this period, “Messiah” did not have any eschatological connotation. However, when Israel lost its kingdom in the Second Temple period, it expected the anointed one who would reestablish the kingship. In this sense, “Messiah” has an eschatological implication (J. Collins: 59).

In general, the messianic age refers to “the era that will be inaugurated by God's decisive intervention in human history, in order to establish his eternal kingdom under the Messiah”; it is “characterised by righteousness, justice and peace, by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and by the restoration and renewal of God's people and of creation.” (Manser: 600). In the Greco-Roman period, some Jews, especially Qumranites, withdrew themselves to the wilderness for purification in order to prepare the messianic age. In popular eschatology, redemption would begin in the wilderness and the Messiah would be shown there (“Matt 24:26; Acts 21:38; Ant. 20.167; J.W. 2.259–63; 7.437–38”) (Jones: 851). D. C. Allison, Jr. says that “a return to the wilderness and a Second Exodus would herald the messianic age” (Allison: 565). In addition, the blessings of the messianic age would be poured out in the wilderness (e.g., messianic banquet: 1QSa 2:11–22).

It was a popular expectation among the Jews that the blessings of the manna provision would resume in the messianic age and the Messiah would feed his people in the wilderness. In 2 Bar. 29:8, manna is expected to rain again with “eschatological hope” (France: 262): “And it will happen at that time that the treasury of manna will come down again from on high, and they will eat of it in those years because these are they who will have arrived at the consummation of time” (edited & translated by Charlesworth).

Mauser notes that the expectation of the messianic age can be traced in the rabbinic writings: “[t]he tendency to fashion the period of salvation after the pattern of the first exodus is not only discernible in the connexion with the Messianic hope; it also leads to the assumption that the great miracles during the sojourn in the desert would be repeated in the last days” (Mauser: 55). The typology of Moses and the Messiah as the redeemer is used frequently and expressed in various ways: “As the first redeemer (Moses), so the final redeemer (the Messiah)” (Jeremias 1967: 860). One of the typological parallels between Moses and Messiah is the provision of manna: the Messiah would give the eschatological blessing of manna as Moses provided manna in the wilderness (France: 262). There are several rabbinic mentions of this manna provision (Cranfield: 222):

As the first Redeemer causes manna to descend, so shall also the last Redeemer cause manna to descend [Qoheleth Rabba on Eccl 1:9].

For whom has it [i.e. the manna] now been prepared? For the righteous in the age that is coming: everyone who believeth is worthy and eateth of it [Tanhuma, b^ešallaḥ 21.

You shall not find it [i.e. manna] in this age, but ye shall find it in the age that is coming. [Mekilta on Exod 16:25].

Dean W. Chapman claims that Jesus' feeding miracles in Mark 6:31–44 and 8:1–10 refer to the blessing of manna in the messianic age (Chapman: 55–61). Jesus' feeding miracles served as the ground of Peter's confession of Jesus as the Messiah (8:29) because Peter saw the messianic mission of providing manna in Jesus' miraculous feeding of the crowd with bread in the wilderness (Chapman: 57–58). If we connect 8:21 with vv 27–29 by omitting vv 22–26, Peter's answer (confession) in v 29 can be related to Jesus' question in v 21: Jesus asks, “Do you still not understand [about the meaning of the feedings in the desert]?” (v 21); Peter answers, “[I understand] You are the Christ” (v 29) (Chapman: 59–60). This assumption is problematic, however, because Jesus' question is a rebuke and lament for the disciples' incomprehension and hardened hearts; it is not an actual question. It is difficult to find definite evidence that Peter's confession was inspired by his experience of Jesus' feeding miracles. Nevertheless, I believe that Peter also had in mind the popular expectation of a Messiah who would provide the blessings of manna, and that his confession following the two feeding miracles might possibly reflect Jewish messianic expectations.

There was also a belief among the Jews that the Messiah would “arise in the wilderness and gather his people” (Mauser: 56). As Moses led the Israelites in the desert, the Messiah would guide his people into the wilderness (Jeremias 1967: 860). This belief and expectation inspired revolutionary messianic movements in the wilderness (Kittel: 658–59), and Josephus criticized messianic pretenders who rebelled in the desert as follows (Mauser: 57–58):

And now did the madness of the Sicarii, like a disease, reach as far as the cities of Cyrene; For one Jonathan, a vile person, and by trade a weaver, came thither and prevailed with no small number of the poorer sort to give ear to him; he also led them into the desert, upon promising them that he would show them signs and apparitions [Josephus,J.W. 7.437–38—translated by Whiston].

Acts 21:38 also mentions a revolt that was stirred up by the Egyptians, who led four thousand terrorists out into the wilderness. In Matthew 24:26, the wilderness is cited as the place where the Messiah is expected to appear: “So, if they say to you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out” (Kittel: 658–59). As Mauser says, “[t]he call to the wilderness is nothing less than synonymous with the claim of Messiahship” (Mauser: 58).

In the Qumran community, the wilderness was the place where the “penitents of the desert” (šābê hammidbār: “those who return from the wilderness,” 4QpPs^a 3:1) withdrew from the city, gathered together, and settled in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord according to the prophet's calling in Isaiah 40:3 (Talmon: 118). The Qumran community understood the preparation of the way of the Lord in the wilderness as the second period of wilderness life would begin the last deliverance of God's people (Mauser: 60).

And when these exist as a community in Israel in compliance with these arrangements they are to be segregated from within the dwelling of the men of sin to walk to the desert in order to open there His path. As it is written: “In the desert, prepare the way of … straighten in the steppe a roadway for our God.” This is the study of the law which he commanded through the hand of Moses, in order to act in compliance with all that has been revealed from age to age, and according to what the prophets have revealed through his holy spirit [1QS 8:12–16—edited by Martínez & translated by Watson].

The Qumran community's communal structure reflects Moses' grouping of the Israelites as instructed by his father-in-law Jethro (Exod 18:21, 25; Num 31:14; Deut 1:15). Following Moses, they subdivided community members into thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and they regarded such groupings as an “eschatological model for their sectarian life (1 QS 2:21–23; CD 13:1; 1 QM 4:1–5:17; 1QSa 1:14–15, 28–29)” (Guelich: 341; Gnilka: 260–61): “In the third place all the people shall enter the Rule, one after another, in thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens, so that all the children of Israel may know their standing in God's Community in conformity with the eternal plan” (1QS 2:21–23). This practice recollects the Israelites' wilderness wanderings in the exodus. In addition, the community members who lived as the people of the new covenant in the wilderness would participate in the messianic banquet (Guelich: 341; see also Boring 2009: 66; Smith: 788–91).

This is the assembly of famous men, [those summoned to] the gathering of the community council, when [God] begets the Messiah with them…. And [when] they gather at the table of community [or to drink] the new wine, and the table of community is prepared [and] the new wine [is mixed] for drinking, [no-one should stretch out] his hand to the first-fruit of the bread and of the [new wine] before the priest, for [he is the one who bl] esses the first-fruit of bread and of the new wine [and stretches out] his hand towards the bread before them. Afterwards, the Messiah of Israel shall stretch out his hand towards the bread. [And afterwards, shall] bless all the congregation of the community, each [one according to] his dignity [1QSa 2:11–22].

The Qumran community, then, gathered together in the wilderness according to the prophetic announcement, prepared themselves as the true people of a new covenant, and participated in a messianic banquet. They saw the wilderness as the place where the eschatological drama would unfold in the messianic age.

The Wilderness and Jesus' Feeding Miracles (Mark 6:31–44 and 8:1–10)

We have now explored the use of wilderness imagery in relation to the exodus story in the Old Testament, Second Temple Jewish literature, and rabbinic writings. In the historical description of the exodus, the wilderness is the place where God's gracious provision was given to the Israelites in spite of their grumbling. Though the Israelites were tested by God in the desert, they witnessed the glory of the Lord in the same place. In post-Pentateuchal, Second Temple Jewish literature, and rabbinic writings the wilderness is interpreted from cosmic and eschatological perspectives.

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It is regarded as a place of chaos that will be transformed by God's grace into a fertile land full of vitality and a flat road for the way of the Lord.

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It is the place where God leads his people as the shepherd of Israel.

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It is the place where the people of God will be gathered for the eschatological restoration of their intimate relationship with God and fed with the blessing of manna in the messianic age.

Jesus' feeding miracles in Mark 6:31–44 and 8:1–10 reflect the manna event in the exodus and the wilderness setting of these episodes contains these theological implications.

The Reasons for Presenting Two Feeding Miracles in Mark's Narrative

Before discussing the theological significance of the wilderness in the two feeding miracle stories, one needs to understand why Mark includes two such similar feeding stories in his narrative (cf. Kim 2017a). Two reasons for this may be suggested, one related to Mark's rhetorical technique and the other to his geographical description. The first reason is that Mark develops and emphasizes the themes of Jesus' greatness and the disciples' incomprehension by employing his favorite literary device, repetition (cf. Williams: 52–55). The disciples' ignorance, seen in their failure to understand the first feeding miracle (6:52), is further developed through Mark's emphasis on their unbelief in the account of the second feeding miracle, after which Jesus rebukes them for their hardness of heart and failure to recognize the meaning of the loaves (8:13–21) (Boring 2006: 219). Through this repetition, Jesus' greatness in performing the two feeding miracles is mentioned twice (vv 19–20).

The second reason for Mark's inclusion of both feeding miracles is that Mark is able to depict Jesus as the Savior who feeds not only the Jews but also the Gentiles by arranging the two feeding episodes in two different locales. The feeding of the five thousand (6:31–44) took place in Jewish territory, while the feeding of the four thousand (8:1–10) occurred in Gentile territory. This geographical difference implies that the two feeding miracles are intended to show that Jesus fed the Jews in one episode and the Gentiles in the other (Boring 2006: 219). Mark's narrative develops through repetition, but also through variations of characters, settings, and plot (Williams: 53). In the case of the two feeding miracles, the main variation is geographical and serves to demonstrate that Jesus is the Savior of both the Jews and the Gentiles.

The Wilderness and the Feeding Miracles in Light of the New Exodus

For the study of the role of the wilderness in Jesus' feeding miracles, one needs to examine how the feeding miracles are related to the manna event of the exodus in terms of their spatial setting in the wilderness, and how the wilderness setting discloses the theological themes of the feeding miracles in light of the new exodus. Because the two feedings of the five thousand and the four thousand are so similar in their characters, events, and settings—with the exception of several differences, especially in the Jewish and Gentile characteristics of each episode—rather than considering them separately I will investigate the two feeding miracles together to discover the theological significance of the wilderness setting.

To begin, Jesus' feeding miracles took place in the wilderness (erēmos), which corresponds to the location of the manna provision in the exodus. In the first feeding miracle (6:31–44), five thousand people ate their fill following Jesus' multiplication of five loaves and two fishes. Before this miracle, the disciples reported on the mission to the Galilean villages (v 30) that Jesus had ordered them to carry out. In his mission commandment to the disciples (vv 7–11), Jesus gave them instructions to take nothing but a staff and sandals—items that are actually prohibited in the parallel accounts in Matthew 10:10 and Luke 9:3. This difference may indicate that Mark followed a tradition, independent of Matthew and Luke, which reflected the exodus tradition (Mauser: 133). Though it is difficult to explain the different rules about possessing various items on missional journeys in the Synoptic Gospels (cf. Power: 241–66; Johnson: 166; Bultmann: 145; Carson: 245; France: 248–49; Stein: 293), Mark 6:8–9 evidently reflects the situation of the Israelites' flight from Egypt (Exod 12:11). According to Grant R. Osborne, “[m]any have connected Mark's allowing staff and sandals with Exod 12:11, where the Israelites on the eve of the exodus are told to eat the Passover in haste, with staff in hand and sandals on the feet. In this way the mission may be seen as a new exodus” (Osborne: 379). In Exodus 12:11, the Israelites were commanded to be ready for the escape from Egypt before the day of the Passover, “with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand.” The similarity in the commands for preparation in Exodus and Mark demonstrates that “the missionary instruction to the disciples is given in accordance with the instruction given to Israel at the outset of her wanderings through the desert” (Mauser: 133). The four necessities for the journey are identical in Exodus and Mark: a staff, a belt, a tunic, and sandals (Exod 12:11; Mark 6:8, 9) (Edwards: 180). These clothing items recollect the urgency and anticipation of the exodus. As Marcus notes, “[i]f these Exodus parallels are deliberate … Mark probably wishes to imply that the disciples' missionary journey will be a participation in the new exodus inaugurated by Jesus” (Marcus: 389). The mission commandment in Mark corresponds to the instruction at the outset of the exodus, which implies the beginning of the wilderness wanderings. The disciples' mission journey may then allude to the wilderness life. The disciples' mission report in 6:30 serves as the connection between Jesus' sending out the disciples (vv 6b–13) and his feeding of the five thousand (vv 31–44), and both episodes highlight the wilderness motif of the exodus: the preparedness for the wilderness lifestyle and the provision of food in the wilderness.

Next, in the two feeding episodes as in the exodus story, the wilderness is also the place where the people complained and were tested. The Israelites complained about their hunger in the wilderness (Exod 16:2, 3), showing their lack of faith; the disciples who asked Jesus to dismiss the crowd showed a similar response of grumbling and unbelief (Grassi: 14). The disciples and the crowd who followed Jesus are “representative of Israel” in the wilderness (Lane: 226). In the feeding of the five thousand, the disciples asked Jesus to send the crowd away to get some food in the neighboring country and villages because “this is a deserted place” (Mark 6:35, 36). In response to Jesus' order to the disciples to give the crowd something to eat, they complained about how they would need to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread to feed them (v 37). In the feeding of the four thousand, the disciples questioned Jesus' compassion on the starvation of the crowd: “How can one feed these people with bread here ‘in the desert’?” (8:4). In both episodes, the wilderness is described as a place where no food can be supplied. The disciples' comments connote skepticism regarding the possibility of feeding people in the wilderness (Guelich: 404).

Though the “testing” of the disciples is not explicitly stated in Mark's feeding episodes as it is in John 6:6, Jesus' order to the disciples is meant to test their faith. Even after experiencing the feeding of the five thousand, the disciples show skepticism about where they could get enough bread to feed the four thousand in the desert. In a boat during the final sea-crossing (8:13–21), Jesus rebuked them for their hardened hearts and failure to recognize the instruction from the two feeding miracles (vv 17–21). In the wilderness, Jesus tested the disciples' understanding of who he is and what he had done for them.

The images and implications of the new exodus in Mark's two feeding miracles notably appear in relation to cosmological and eschatological dimensions. First, the wilderness is the place where Jesus gathers his people and gives them rest. This has eschatological implications (Lane: 255). Jesus told the disciples who took a mission journey to withdraw to a deserted place to rest (6:31); this is consistent with the repeated theme of God's promise to give rest to his people in the wilderness tradition (Mauser: 135). William Lane says that “[i]t was the literal rest of the wilderness generation led by Moses and Joshua which became the type of the final rest promised to the people of God in a second exodus in the preaching of Isaiah and Jeremiah” (Lane: 225). By inviting the disciples to the wilderness, Jesus provided the promised rest in the wilderness (Lane: 255). In addition, the eschatological rest in the wilderness was fulfilled with “the communion of a meal,” which Jesus prepared for his people in the wilderness by multiplying bread (Mauser: 135).

Second, the wilderness is transformed into green pasture full of vitality (Mauser: 136–37). The wilderness is no longer a place where no provisions can be supplied. As previously discussed, the wilderness is transformed from a deserted and cursed land into a fertile land in the new exodus. In the Psalms and the Prophets, God's goodness changes the wilderness into verdant pastures in which flocks dwell with abundant rain (e.g., Ps 68:7[8]–10[11]). The wilderness will be turned into a paradise like Eden (e.g., Isaiah 51:3). In Mark 6:39, the “green grass” in the desert reflects the transformation of the wilderness to be full of “refreshment, life, and joy” (Mauser: 136). The wilderness becomes an eschatological place where the Messiah holds a huge banquet for his people. Mark's vivid description of the green grass also implies that the miracle of feeding the five thousand took place during the spring, the season when the grass grows (France: 267). The green grass associates this feeding miracle with the spring festival of the Passover; this connection is made explicit in John 6:4. The green grass reflects the imagery of the Passover or the exodus: “Blooming grass, like the Passover/exodus typology in general, points forward to an expected eschatological recapitulation of the exodus events” (Marcus: 408).

Third, the wilderness is the place where a shepherd leads and feeds his sheep (Lane: 229). In the wilderness, a shepherd shows his faithfulness to his sheep by leading, protecting, feeding, and caring for them. Mark's portrayal of blooming grass covering the wilderness indicates that the wilderness becomes a lush pasture where the shepherd can provide food for his sheep (Erlangen: 10–22). The true shepherd leads his sheep into green pastures (Ps 23:2) and cares for them there; the imagery of the wilderness as verdant pasture evokes the shepherd motif. Jesus is regarded as a shepherd in that he had compassion on the crowd when he saw their wretched condition, “like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34).

In the Old Testament, God is presented as a shepherd who guides, cares for, and feeds his flock (e.g., Isa 40:11), and the Israelites are described as sheep in the wilderness wanderings (e.g., Ps 78(77):52) (cf. Watts: 197). The expression of the crowd's pathetic situation, “like sheep without a shepherd,” is “the metaphor for lack of care and leadership” in the Old Testament (France: 265). In Numbers 27:17, Moses asked God to appoint a leader to replace him and guide the Israelites so that they would not be “like sheep without a shepherd” (hōsei probata hois ouk estin poimēn, LXX) in the wilderness. In Ezekiel 34:5–6, when the appointed leaders failed in faith, the people of God were scattered like sheep because there was no shepherd (diesparē ta probata mou dia to mē einai poimenas, LXX). Both of these passages are associated with the wilderness motif (Lane: 226). In response to Moses' prayer, God appointed Joshua, whose Greek name is “Jesus” (Iēsous) in the LXX, as the one to lead the Israelites out and bring them through the wilderness (Num 27:15–18). In Ezekiel 34, God promised to set up a true shepherd, “my servant David,” who would feed the Israelites (v 23) and make a covenant of peace allowing them to live safely in the wilderness (v 25); in v 25, the promise to get rid of wild beasts in the wilderness in order for the Israelites to live there implies the transformation of the wilderness into paradise (cf. Isa 35:9) (Mauser: 37). Against the background of these Old Testament passages, Lane argues that Mark 6:34 portrays Jesus as “the one appointed by God to be the leader of the people in their exodus into the wilderness” (Lane: 226). In his compassion to the starving crowd, Jesus is manifested as the “promised eschatological shepherd” who provides for his sheep in the wilderness (Guelich: 340).

Fourth, the people of God are arranged by groups in the wilderness. Jesus ordered the disciples to make the crowds who gathered around him sit down in groups of hundreds and fifties in the wilderness (6:39–40). Since “the declining order of number is unusual (contra e.g., 4:8, 20),” the grouping numbers may have a historical background (Marcus: 408). This grouping recalls the arrangement of the Israelites in Mosaic camps by thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens in the wilderness (Exod 18:21, 25). In addition, the fact that the camps are associated with the officials of the twelve tribes in Deuteronomy 1:15 may possibly be connected to the twelve baskets full of broken pieces of bread and fish (Mark 6:43) (Marcus: 408). Mark's usage of the number may thus be interpreted in light of the exodus typology (Marcus: 408).

The Qumran community also followed the model of Moses' grouping of the Israelites in the wilderness to form the organizational configuration of their community in order to show that they were the true Israel corresponding to the Israel of the exodus. The members of the Qumran community were grouped in thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens (1QS 2:21–22; 1QSa 1:14–15; CD 13:1; 1QM 4:1–5:17) (Donahue & Harrington: 206). These people who thought of themselves as living in the last days while waiting for the Messiah(s) structured their community in preparation for eschatological events (A. Y. Collins: 325). In Mark 6:39–40, then, the groupings of hundreds and fifties in the wilderness may imply that the crowd around Jesus stands for the eschatological community (A. Y. Collins: 325). The crowd as the eschatological community therefore becomes “the recipient of the Messianic grace” and the people are blessed by Jesus' miraculous provision in the wilderness where the new exodus is realized (Mauser: 137).

Finally, the wilderness is the gathering and feeding place where the messianic banquet will be spread. All the crowds reclined (anaklinai/anepesan) in groups (symposia symposia/prasiai prasiai) on the green grass of the wilderness (6:39–40). The Greek words anaklinō and anapiptō (to recline) express the posture taken by ancient people at a meal (Bauer: 65, 70). In the Greco-Roman sphere, the guests of a banquet generally reclined on couches; in the Jewish world, however, the reclining posture at a meal is related to the Passover (Marcus: 407; see also Jeremias 1966: 48–49). The mention of reclining on the grass may be “part of the Passover typology” (Marcus: 407). The imagery of the Passover meal not only reminded the people of the exodus from Egypt, but also made them anticipate the eschatological messianic banquet (Grassi: 19). In these Greek words, France discovers the image of the “messianic banquet”:

These terms are especially associated with the Graeco-Roman style of reclining at table. In a Jewish context, where meals were generally taken seated, these terms would normally indicate a more formal “banquet” setting, following the Graeco-Roman style, rather than an ordinary meal. While at an open-air picnic sitting at table was in any case out of the question, it is possible that by using such terms Mark intends to hint that, while it was hardly a formal occasion and the fare was basic, there was an air of festivity about it which made it, at least with hindsight, a foreshadowing of the messianic banquet [France: 267].

The Greek symposion literally means “drinking-party,” but is better interpreted as “banquet” (Bauer: 959). The use of this word implies that “the meal hosted by Jesus is a kind of banquet” (A. Y. Collins: 324). The literal sense of the Greek prasia is “garden plot” or “garden bed” (Bauer: 860), and this word is not elsewhere employed to describe people (France: 267). Mark, however, used the distributive repetition, prasia prasia, to describe the groups of the people by contrasting them with the green grass (Bauer: 860). This expression gives “a remarkable visual impression of the scene, with men lined up in groups like plots of vegetables on the green grass” (France: 267). These Greek words not only recall God's provision for the Israelites in the wilderness but also anticipate the eschatological moment when the people of God will be gathered into community in the last days (Guelich: 341). The eschatological banquet of the messianic age will be held in the transformed wilderness full of vitality.

Military images can also be found in the feeding episodes. In the Old Testament, the metaphor of “the sheep without a shepherd” is especially related to the request for the military leadership, as when Moses asked God to appoint a leader to replace him for the upcoming campaigns (Num 27:17) (Budd: 308). The groupings of “thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens” were generally made for military units, though the divisions in Exodus 18:21, 25 are used for civilian groupings (Stuart 2006: 418). In Mark, Jesus saw the crowd as “sheep without a shepherd” (6:34) and ordered them to sit down in groups of hundreds and fifties (v 40). In addition, the references to many people's movement of “coming and going” (v 31) and Jesus' “arriving ahead of them” (v 33) may indicate “the wilderness commotion” with “messianic fever” (Edwards: 194; see also Brandon: 221–83). These images depict Jesus as the militant-messianic warrior.

I do not believe, however, that Jesus' feeding miracles were performed in the context of military campaigns (cf. Edwards: 195). Rather, in both feeding episodes, the miracles are primarily the results of Jesus' compassion (splanchnizomai, 6:34; 8:2) on the crowds who suffer from hunger. Jesus is here described as “the Messiah in whom the divine mercy is present” (Köster: 554). The crowds are fed with abundant food in the fullness of Jesus' grace. The eschatological people of God are not summoned to prepare for warfare, but invited as the banqueters in Jesus' table fellowship (Tischgemeinschaft) (Gnilka: 261). In the wilderness, therefore, Jesus gathered the crowds to have table fellowship, and true communion between Jesus and his people is accomplished in the messianic banquet.

Conclusion

The exodus story was passed down for generations and deeply stamped on the memories of the Israelites. This story served not only as the basis for establishing their identity, but also as the ground for anticipating their future deliverance and restoration. In Mark's narrative, Jesus' ministry reflects the exodus events, and spatial arrangement and description allude to exodus images. The most important events in the exodus may be the victory at the Red Sea, the provision of manna and quail in the wilderness, and the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai. The sea, the wilderness, and the mountain function as the main settings of the crucial events of the exodus; they are also employed as the settings of Jesus' ministry in Mark's narrative. Before entering Jerusalem, Jesus performed his ministry for the kingdom of God in and around Galilee. He also attempted to take a missional journey beyond Galilee by crossing over the Sea of Galilee. At this point, the significant events disclosing Jesus' identity occurred against the background of spaces—the sea, the wilderness, and the mountain—that recall the exodus story. These events include Jesus' calming and walking on the sea (4:35–41; 6:45–52), his feeding of the five thousand and the four thousand in the wilderness (6:31–44; 8:1–10), and his transfiguration on the mountain (9:2–8). Not only are the contents of these events connected to the exodus events that occurred in the same spaces, but also the sequence of the spaces (the sea, the wilderness, and the mountain) is the same as in the exodus.

The wilderness has a special meaning to the Israelites, for they were formed as the people of God in the wilderness wanderings of the exodus. The wilderness, like the sea, has cosmological and eschatological implications in the Old Testament, Second Temple Jewish literature, and rabbinic writings. The wilderness stands for a place of chaos that will be transformed into the blessed land by God's grace. It is also the eschatological place where God leads his people as a shepherd who feeds and cares for them. Messianic expectation arose in the wilderness, where the eschatological banquet will be spread for the people of God in the messianic age.

The two feeding miracles (6:31–44; 8:1–10) echo the exodus story, and the wilderness functions as a spatial setting that recalls the manna event in the exodus. Like the Israelites in the desert, the disciples complained about the lack of food in the wilderness, concerned about how they could feed the crowds. Jesus responded by miraculously multiplying bread to feed the crowds in the wilderness. Here, the wilderness is the place where the eschatological blessing of the manna was accomplished in light of the new exodus and the messianic banquet was spread in anticipation of the ultimate banquet at the end of time. Jesus called his disciples into the wilderness and gave them rest (6:31). Green grass (v 39) sprouted, implying the transformation of the wilderness. Jesus had compassion on the crowds because they were like sheep without a shepherd (v 34) and arranged them to sit down in groups of hundreds and fifties (v 40). All these details contribute to Mark's picture of Jesus as the eschatological shepherd who held the messianic banquet in the wilderness where he shared table fellowship with his people. In the feeding miracles, the wilderness serves as the place where Jesus was manifested as the Messiah who cared for his people as the eschatological shepherd and fed them with the messianic banquet.

In the desert miracles, Jesus “as the bearer of sovereign authority granted to him on behalf of the new covenant” fed his people in “the eschatological re-enactment of the Exodus” (Kee: 112). In the twice-repeated feedings, Jesus is manifested as the eschatological Savior who will feed all the people, not only the Jews but also the Gentiles, and the universal Lord who will reign over cosmic forces and lead his people into the kingdom of God, envisioning the new exodus.

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The Wilderness as a Place of the New Exodus in Mark's Feeding Miracles (Mark 6:31–44 and 8:1–10)

Abstract

Keywords

The Wilderness and the Original Exodus Events

The Wilderness and the Later Old Testament Texts

The Wilderness and Second Temple Jewish Literature and Rabbinic Writings

The Wilderness and Jesus' Feeding Miracles (Mark 6:31–44 and 8:1–10)

The Reasons for Presenting Two Feeding Miracles in Mark's Narrative

The Wilderness and the Feeding Miracles in Light of the New Exodus

Conclusion

References